Warning agent



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Patented May 19, 1942 WARNING AGENT William S. Calcott, Woodstown, N. .L, assignor to Kinetic Chemicals, Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application July 26, 1940,

Serial No. 347,643

4 Claims. (Cl. 252-68) This invention relates to refrigerants, which CHClFz, CzClaFa, and C2C12F4. It produces its reby reason of a distinctive odor, give warning of sults at concentrations between 0.01 and 0.5%, leaks in refrigerating systems, preferably, but other concentrations are also use- Refrigerating systems develop leaks which ful. The concentration required for optimum recause the loss of expensive refrigerant. To give 5 suits varies with the refrigerant. For example, warning of leaks and to prevent loss in refriger- 0.15% by weight of oenanthal produced optiating systems it has been proposed to incorporate mum results with CClzF, and 0.1% with CHClzF. in refrigerants a substance which, by reason of In each instance the refrigerants contained its distinctive odor, will disclose a leak. Howparts of lubricating oil to 90 parts of refrigerant. ever, no entirely satisfactory warning agent is 10 The oenanthal may be added to the refrigerant yet known. before or after it is charged into the unit, or it The requirements for a satisfactory warning may be added to the lubricating oil. agent are severe: It must be compatible with, and As many apparently Widely different embodiinert to, the refrigerant, the lubricants, and the ments of this invention may be made without demetals of the refrigerating system; it must withparting from the spirit and scope thereof, it is stand the compression and expansion which occur to be understood that I do not limit myself to the in the system; and it must be non-toxic, non-irspecific embodiments thereof except as defined .ritating and non-pungent at the concentrations in the appended claims. used. I claim:

It is my discovery that oenanthal, being com- 1. A refrigerant comprising a fiuorochloro hypatible with the fluoro halogeno'hydrocarbon redrocarbon and a small amount of oenanthal. frigerants, and with the materials found in re- 2. A refrigerant comprising CClsF and a small frigerating systems, and being stable under the amount of oenanthal. conditions of use, and lacking pungency, irrita- 3. A refrigerant comprising 020131: and a tion and toxicity, is a warning agent of great small amount of oenanthal. value. Oenanthal is also called enanthaldehyde 4. A refrigerant comprising CC12F2 and a small and is substantially nheptaldehyde. amount of oenanthal.

Refrigerants, exemplary of the class and with WILLIAM S. CALCOTT. which it has been tried, are CC12F2, CClzF, 

